McIlroy eyes Grand Slam

The auction company's co-founder, Ryan Carey, said the price paid for the ball is the second-highest ever paid for a golf ball, after a vintage Bobby Jones autographed ball sold for $55,865 (£33,280) in April 2011. Jones won 13 major championships as an amateur from 1923 to 1930.

"There was a lot of interest in this ball," Carey told ESPN.com. "We had 22 different bidders from countries across the world, including Ireland, Australia and countries in Asia."

Carey said the buyer wanted to stay anonymous, but did disclose that it was won by an American.

The ball, which has the word "RORS" printed on it, was confirmed to be McIlroy's ball by his sponsor Nike.

Carey said not many tournament-winning balls have come to the collector's marketplace because they are either kept by the golfer or even lost in a bag after a round. He said he hopes that the money generated from the McIlroy ball will encourage golfers to save their balls and for some to eventually be made available to the public.